Dave Spector
| Dave Spector | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 5, 1954 Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Residence | Tokyo, Japan |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | TV personality and producer |
| Organization | Spector Communications |
| Spouse(s) | Kyoko (1981–present) |
| Website | |
| www.spector.co.jp | |
Dave Spector (born May 5, 1954)[1] is an American gaijin tarento (foreign TV personality) and TV producer who lives and works in Japan. Originally from Chicago, USA, he moved to Japan in 1983 after visiting as a producer with the American television program Ripley's Believe It or Not!.[2][3] He appears regularly as a commentator on several different Japanese television programs, including a Wednesday spot on Fuji TV's daily morning news program Tokudane!,[2] and TBS's weekly Sunday Japon.[4]
Career
As a child, Dave Spector appeared in American TV commercials, including one for cereal manufacturer Kellogg Company.[5] He says that he first became interested in things Japanese in the fifth grade at elementary school when he made friends with an immigrant classmate from Japan, Michael Sugano.[6] He started learning Japanese by reading serialized Japanese manga such as Obake no Q-tarō and Ashita no Joe.[5]
In 1972, Spector studied at Sophia University in Tokyo,[4] before returning to America a year later.[6] After returning to Chicago, he enrolled at the Institute of Broadcast Arts.[6] In 1977, he moved to Los Angeles with the aim of becoming a TV show writer, but ended up working as a Japanese tour guide.[6] It was at this time that he met his future Japanese wife, Kyoko, working at the New Otani Hotel.[6] They married in 1981.[1]
He moved to Japan in 1983 to research exotic film clips from Japanese television to be used on the American TV show Ripley's Believe It or Not!.[6] While this work continued until Ripley's Believe It or Not! ended in 1986,[6] Spector became well-known in Japan after becoming a regular guest on Fuji TV's lunchtime TV variety show Waratte Iitomo! in 1984,[5] alongside other foreign personalities such as Canadian Kent Derricott, American Kent Gilbert, and Guinean Ousmane Sankhon (ja).[7]
He established the Tokyo-based company Spector Communications in 1988.[4]
Private life
Spector is married to Kyoko Spector (京子スペクター), a native of Chiba Prefecture, whom he met in the USA.[2][8]
Filmography
- Nihon Igai Zenbu Chinbotsu (2006)[9]
- Handsome Suit (ja) (2008)[9]
- One Missed Call (2008)[9]
Regular TV appearances
- Waratte Iitomo! (Fuji TV, 1984 – ?)[1]
- Tokudane! (Fuji TV, 1999 – present)[1]
- Wide! Scramble (ワイド!スクランブル) (NTV, July 2001 – present)[1]
- Sunday Japon (サンデージャポン) (TBS, October 2002 – present)[1]
- Jōhō Live Miyaneya (情報ライブ ミヤネ屋) (NTV, April 2008 – present)[1]
- J-MELO (NHK World)[10]
Books
Spector has written a number of books published in Japan, including the following.
- Kore wa Jōku no Gohon desu (これはジョークのご本です, "This is a Joke Book") (Shueisha, June 1986, ISBN 978-4086108546)
- Nihonjin wa Eigo ga Tokui - Hanasenai to Omoikondeiru Anata e (日本人は英語が得意―話せないと思い込んでいるあなたへ) (Goma Shobo, September 1986, ISBN 978-4341013967)
- Dēbu Supekutā no Amerika Daigimon (デーブ・スペクターのアメリカ大ギモン) (Heibonsha, November 1986, ISBN 978-4582610116)
- Bunmeitaika no Oto ga suru (文明退化の音がする) (Shinchosha, April 1987, ISBN 978-4103656012)
- Eigo de Gaijin o Warawaseru Hō (英語で外人を笑わせる法, "How to Make Foreigners Laugh in English") (Shinchosha, December 1988, ISBN 978-4108015012)
- Amerikan Sunakku Geitaikai (全米スナック芸大会―道具・練習いらずで、大ウケ・大モテ) (Goma Shobo, December 1988, ISBN 978-4341030728)
- Dēbu Supekutā no Tōkyō Saiban (デーブ・スペクターの東京裁判, "Dave Spector's Tokyo Trials") (Nesco, October 1989, ISBN 978-4890367771)
- Eigo wa "Nagashima-ryū" de Ike (英語は“ナガシマ流”でいけ, "Nagashima-style English is Fine") (Goma Shobo, November 1997, ISBN 978-4341018054)
- Boku wa kō shite Nihongo o oboeta (僕はこうして日本語を覚えた, "This is how I learned Japanese") (Dobunshoin, September 1998, ISBN 978-4810375404)
- Itsumo Kokoro ni Kūru Gyaggu o (いつも心にクールギャグを) (Gentosha, June 2011, ISBN 978-4344020047)
His wife, Kyoko, wrote the following book about him.
- How To Make Dave Spector (デーブ・スペクターの作り方 Dēbu Supekutā no Tsukurikata) (Tokyo Shoseki, July 2013, ISBN 978-4487807222)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "オリコン芸能人事典" [Oricon Talent Directory]. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Japan: Oricon Inc. 25 August 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Spontaneous Japanese TV keeps Dave Spector on his toes". The Japan Times. Japan: The Japan Times Ltd. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ↑ Brown, Alan (31 December 1989). "The Mr. Know-It-All of Japan : Transplanted Chicagoan Dave Spector may have become a media megastar, but can he ever go home again?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "放送プロデューサー、デーブ・スペクターさん " [Broadcasting producer Dave Spector]. MSN Sankei News (in Japanese). Japan: The Sankei Shimbun & Sankei Digital. 17 November 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Dave Spector". Web Goethe. Japan: Nikkei Inc. May 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Goozner, Merrill (12 April 1993). "Toyko's All-american Media Darling". Chicago Tribune. p. 2. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ↑ Betros, Chris (12 September 2011). "Ousmane Sankhon: Africa's most famous face on Japanese TV". Japan Today. Japan: GPlusMedia Co., Ltd. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ↑ "シカゴで夫が教えてくれた旅の流儀…京子スペクターさん" [Kyoko Spector - Travel style she learned from her husband in Chicago]. Yomiuri Online (in Japanese). Japan: The Yomiuri Shimbun. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "デーブ・スペクター" [Dave Spector]. Kinenote (in Japanese). Japan: Kinema-Junposha.Co.Ltd. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ↑ Team J-MELO
External links
|